The bill allows families with children zoned to failing schools to receive tax credits to help pay for attendance at private schools or other public schools. It authorizes donation-funded scholarships for students zoned to failing schools whose families meet income requirements. It allows local school systems to seek waivers from some state policies.

"Every school can now develop new ideas that
come from their local teachers and their local principals and then put those
ideas into practice," Bentley said in a statement. "Local educators deserve the freedom and opportunity
to make their schools better. That's what this legislation provides.

"This also gives
flexibility to children and parents by providing new options for students who
are stuck in persistently low-performing schools," Bentley said. "All children deserve access to a quality education, no matter
where they live. This provides a new option to help children receive the
best education possible."

Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, an opponent of the bill, said the governor should have sent the bill back to the Legislature to correct problems with the bill.

"This was an opportunity for him to show some leadership to basically err on the side of citizens of Alabama as governor .... and send it back to the Legislature and have us fix it," Ross said.

Ross predicted the bill would result in litigation that would be costly to taxpayers and compared it to the immigration bill that sparked lawsuits.

House Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, issued a statement:

"I
am deeply disappointed that the governor signed this bill as is without any
executive amendments. This new law will devastate our schools and cut hundreds
of millions of dollars from the state's education budget. But the legal
challenges will continue, and Democrats will continue our fight to repeal this
disastrous law."

Bentley mentioned concerns in his statement.

"Some concerns have been raised regarding the impact of this
legislation,” Bentley said. “The Department of Revenue
and the State Department of Education are reviewing this bill and can
develop responsible rules and regulations to address various concerns.
The most important thing right now is to make sure our schools, our
families and our children have the tools they need. This bill gives
them that flexibility.”

Malissa Valdes-Hubert, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said the bill is under review and the department will begin working on regulations as called for in the bill. She said final regulations will require approval by the state Board of Education.

Staff writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report.

Updated at 3:11 p.m. to add more comments from Gov. Bentley and information from Department of Education.

Gov. Bentley signs Accountability Act Gov. Robert Bentley comments after signing the controversial Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 Thursday, March 14, 2013, at the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. Bentley signed the bill after the Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday lifted a temporary restraining order blocking it from being sent to him. (Julie Bennett /jbennett@al.com)